About this event
The Boo Radleys' journey began in 1988 when childhood friends Sice, Tim and guitarist Martin Carr formed the band in Wallasey, England. From the raw, noise-heavy debut Ichabod and I (1990) and the melodic shoegaze masterpiece Everything's Alright Forever (1992), established them as vital contributors to the UK indie scene. But it was 1993's Giant Steps, named NME's Album of the Year, that announced them as genuine visionaries, fusing shoegaze with psychedelia, dub reggae, jazz, and Beach Boys-influenced harmonies. The band achieved their commercial peak with 1995's chart-topping Wake Up!, a UK number one album, featuring the hit single "Wake Up Boo!" which reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart. Yet even at the height of Britpop fever, they remained restless. That ethos drove them to release 1996's C'mon Kids, which "scared away 100,000 fans" and which became Tom White of The Electric Soft Parade's "all-time favourite album." Their 1998 swan song Kingsize, sophisticated, electronic-tinged, and commercially underperforming, closed their initial chapter before they quietly disbanded in 1999. After 23 years apart, The Boo Radleys reunited in 2021 as a trio, with Martin Carr choosing not to participate. What could have been a nostalgic retreat instead became a creative rebirth, with Sice, Tim, and Rob adopting democratic songwriting processes and leveraging home recording technology. "What allowed that was technology - Tim is in Northern Ireland, I live near Oxford, Rob is in the Peak district" Sice explained. "If it had meant doing it the old way, going to a rehearsal room and then being ensconced in a studio for six weeks, there's no way it was going to happen." The results spoke for themselves. Keep On With Falling (2022) earned a Metacritic score of 70/100, with critics praising its "hooks, energy, and breathless joy" that balanced 1980s synth-pop influences with the band's classic sound. Just over a year later, Eight (2023) demonstrated they had "found a happy space," delivering "one melodic hook after another" with keyboard-led psychedelia, politically charged anthems, and orchestrated arrangements. "It's classic Boo Radleys," Sice noted. "But it's new in that it's got a new set of songwriters. It's doing something we always tried to do - keep it new, keep it interesting, keep it different." Details of IN SPITE OF EVERYTHING album remain closely guarded, but the album title itself speaks volumes. A defiant statement of perseverance and creative survival from a band that has weathered industry indifference, lineup changes, and two decades of separation. Fans can expect the band to continue their trajectory of experimentation balanced with the melodic sophistication that has defined their best work. The band recently released a new single, Solarcide, "the first glimpse" of the album-encouraging fans to "play it loud." Made up of the three original members, the band exists in what they call "a new, perfect state of freedom," liberated from the "money-burning approaches to recording and marketing" of their Creation Records era. Between them juggling day jobs and family commitments-with six children among the three members-The Boo Radleys have found a sustainable model for creating vital new music while honouring their legacy.The band continues to perform select live dates, with recent shows delivering what audiences have described as remarkable warmth and energy.
